Oil, Gas & Energy Equipment Manufacturing worked example

Valve Test Cycle Time at 7.2% fixturing, changeover, and recording allowance: a worked example

Here is what the math looks like when conditions slip. We hold every other input steady and drop fixturing, changeover, and recording allowance to 7.2%, then walk the calculation through step by step. Estimate the labor hours to pressure test a batch of valves, from the number of valves, the test rate, and an allowance for fixturing, gas or fluid changeover, and recording, so teams can schedule valve testing and confirm it fits the shift.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Valves to test: 120 units (held at the documented default)
  • Valve test rate: 12 units / min (held at the documented default)
  • Fixturing, changeover, and recording allowance: 7.2 % (the input this scenario stresses; the baseline uses 10)

Working through the calculation

  • The calculation starts from the formula this tool documents: Base valve test time = valves to test รท valve test rate.
  • Required valve test labor works out to 10.72 hr at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
  • Base valve test time works out to 10 hr at these inputs.
  • Fixturing and changeover allowance applied works out to 7.2 % at these inputs.
  • Valve test rate works out to 12 pieces / min at these inputs.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where fixturing, changeover, and recording allowance sits at 10% and the headline result is 11 hr, this scenario comes in 2.55% below the baseline at 10.72 hr.
  • The practical read: the gap between this scenario and the baseline is entirely attributable to fixturing, changeover, and recording allowance, so recovering it is worth quantifying in dollars before considering equipment or staffing changes. It assumes one average test rate; mixed valve sizes, classes, or test standards within a batch make the real rate variable and can understate hours if the harder valves dominate.

Results at a glance

  • Required valve test labor: 10.72 hr (headline result)
  • Base valve test time: 10 hr
  • Fixturing and changeover allowance applied: 7.2 %
  • Valve test rate: 12 pieces / min

Run it with your numbers

  • To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live Valve Test Cycle Time calculator, set fixturing, changeover, and recording allowance to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.